The job slashers at DOGE forget that many skilled people are on probation so they get fired while some of the dead wood is not on probation so it remains. That's not a strategy based on merit.

Elon Musk's DOGE government cuts seems like the Peter Principle to me. That principle about mediocracy rising to the top.

I hear only 4% of the budget is staff and they keep saying, "Laid off employees are put on administrative leave with pay;" I guess. They are not saving much money and still paying salaries just to not have the work done?

Then they are laying off new staff that is still on probation. This seems like seniority over skill. Why not layoff those deemed less competent and forget about seniority? Much as they talk about tearing things down and disliking unions, maybe that's a bridge too far? If it isn't politically easy to slash folks with highest pay and seniority, in favor of keeping new hires possibly based on merit, it's just the old order wielding a new meataxe.